Cory Schneider encouraged by new NHL offer

Canuck player rep Cory Schneider said Tuesday he was encouraged by the National Hockey League’s new proposal to end the month-old lockout but also admitted he wasn’t aware of all the details in the league’s latest offer. Schneider based his comments on what reporters, pulling information from twitter, told him when he stepped off the ice at UBC. Among other elements in the offer, Schneider was told it was 50/50 split in hockey related revenues, one more year of service towards unrestricted free agency, a cap on long-term contracts to five years and no changes to arbitration or entry-level contract lengths.

“It’s a step towards us,” said Schneider, a member of the NHLPA bargaining committee. “Yes, of course, it’s encouraging. I think everyone has been looking for a gesture, someone to make a move and they made a move. Now we need to analyze it and get back to them with an answer: yes or no.”

Schneider and fellow bargaining committee member Manny Malhotra were scheduled to be on a players’ union conference call at 2 p.m. Pacific time. Schneider appeared buoyed by the comment from union executive leader Donald Fehr that the NHL offer was “an excellent” starting point.

“It’s a good sign if either of the leaders are sharing optimism because it’s been pretty bleak up to this point,” Schneider said. “The problem with the process is you haven’t gotten too far down (emotionally) but you also don’t get your hopes up every single time there is a good sign or a rumour of something being good. So, for now, I think we’re going to wait until all the ‘i’s are dotted and the ‘t’s are crossed before we get optimistic.”

Malhotra seemed a little more reserved than Schneider, his comments again based on what media members were reporting to him. “We have to see what the deal is comprised of,” Malhotra said. “I think too often over the past few weeks people have been obsessed with this number, this percentage (50/50), to all other things around the CBA as far as contract negotiating leverage, term of contracts, what that HRR is comprised of. So to just throw around these percentages doesn’t really do what we’re doing here justice.”

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